Dear Editor,
For the price of an ice house and an outhouse you can have a lighthouse.
I am appalled that council did not protect the icon of Sylvan Lake — the lighthouse. I guess in all the excitement of lavishly handing out relaxations to the developer for the expropriation of the lake view and the mayor doing the just approve it dance, no council or planners thought the lighthouse was worth preserving.
The intent of this letter is to disprove the malignant hyperbole that seems to be coming from the town. I recently had access to the interior of the lighthouse and I will assure you that the lighthouse is in excellent condition. It is constructed of a robust wood — fir — and it shows no signs of structural compromise.
It had minor damage five years ago (a fire) that singed the base of the plywood and smoke stained the exterior but that was easily repaired.
This council seems to be hell bent on destroying the icon, and bending over to facilitate that. It seems that nobody on council wants to extend the effort or propose preserving it. This is a council that spent $100,000 to build a 5x10 washroom in the park. (It’s actually more of an outhouse because it does not have sinks to wash in, and is not connected to the town’s sewer system.) They spent $20,000 on an ice house that melted in six days.
I have looked at a plan to move the lighthouse to the pier. It could be done for the same price as the outhouse and the ice house combined. $120,000-$150,000 — far cheaper than the Samson mansions on the lakeshore at one million each.
I would like to see tourism focus more towards the downtown area and the failing restaurant district.
It’s unfortunate that every measure has been made to destroy the structure and few made to preserve it, but I would like to thank the builder that generously constructed the lighthouse out of his own money as a gift of memories to the people of the town. It was a better time, unfortunately the new owner does not seem to share that vision of the people.
Thank you for the fine town and the great memories. I also see that the walkway between the blue hotel and the lake has been redefined from being a public walkway as was in the original approval to being a private patio as approved by council. Things are definitely changing in regards to who can enjoy the lake.
Lyle Dressler,
Sylvan Lake